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i saw this calvin and hobbes sunday strip the other day and it reminded me of a conversation i had with mike years ago...
he told me, "no giants."
while still in the development stages of tellos, we were talking about the characters that would be part of our little band of resistance/renegades against the dread malesur. we were really having fun, him telling me the types of people and animals he wanted to draw and me fitting them with personalities and tying them together either in the tale or with backstory. the sky was the limit and no idea was shot down.
until...
mike pointed out something i already knew at the time and i'm sure many of you recognize this as well; having giants and ogres and pixies and gnomes all in the same shot creates crazy scale problems. if you're close on the giant, how ya gonna see the dwarf? focusing on one will always lose the other. this was also one of the reasons that mike wasn't too thrilled about having one of my favorite marvel characters, dragon man, show up during our run of sensational spider-man...
so we stayed away from the giants.
until mike thought that the djinn/genie needed to be huge.
and then started having a lot of fun with dani the faerie.
and then, a few months later, did an amazing job in the flashback issue of sensational where a young peter parker and his uncle ben go fishing and run into just about every giant-sized marvel monster stan and jack ever came up with! he said it was a fun challenge...!
(and he eventually did draw dragon man for a page or two in the later-scrapped thing/she-hulk story i wrote called "the long night". and loved it!)
i say all this because it reminds me how very, very lucky i am to have craig--as friend and artist! i'm killing him this week with a couple of grand pages, vast sweeping panels featuring lots of characters and lots of (necessary) detail with a lot going on. just when he needs it least.
craig is a real artist. solid. he never complains, never asks for a re-write, never quibbles or cheats. he gives it all his all.
man, i'm very lucky.
(don't tell him though--don't want him getting a big head...)
thanks.
and here's another calvin and hobbes that reminds me of all the games my brother and i made up as kids--and how sometimes life is just like that.
see ya friday!
smell ya later!
todd
13 comments:
I used to tease Mike that TELLOS was Calvin and Hobbes on faery dust and he'd look surprised and say, "Really? I hadn't thought of that!" but it's obvious to me now that you guys must have had that in mind from the beginning. Especially with the reveal at the end of the 10-issue run.
I had no idea you'd written that THING/SHE-HULK story. Man, I wish that had happened.
And yes, Craig is da shiznit. I've never seen anyone else who can draw in so many different styles and just turn them on and off like flipping a switch. And he can draw anything.
I share your admiration for Craig, both his talent and his equanimity.
Thanks for posting that 'Haps cover, it is one of my all time favorites and I was fortunate to get to see the line art in person.
The Thing/She Hulk story eventually did see print, albeit with Bryan Hitch and Ivan Reis on pencils - a nice book to bring to NYC as you can get all three to sign it there.
That's a good story about Mike. I love how his logic and solid comic book story-telling experience gets overridden by a love of cool monsters.
And I think we'll all see more of Craig's range this week when X-Men FC comes out. I'm headed to the comic store now to pick it up.
Size variations bring complications but to me that's where the fresh stories are. Back in the dawn of time, I was talking about the use of magic to an animation story editor who had done several years of Smurfs. When it came to the size of magical objects he said, "Of course we pulled the cheat of switching sizes so that a magical harp would fit in the arms of a Smurf but fit in the arms of Gargamel (a human) too."
I thought that it would provide all sorts of gags if Gargamel had to play a harp with toothpicks or fight to keep the cat from swallowing it. Conversely, if the Smurfs had to deal with a full sized harp they'd need the whole village to work together, jumping up and down on the strings. Lots of gags that you'd never get if you just "pulled the cheat."
Size variations bring complications but to me that's where the fresh stories are. Back in the dawn of time, I was talking about the use of magic to an animation story editor who had done several years of Smurfs. When it came to the size of magical objects he said, "Of course we pulled the cheat of switching sizes so that a magical harp would fit in the arms of a Smurf but fit in the arms of Gargamel (a human) too."
I thought that it would provide all sorts of gags if Gargamel had to play a harp with toothpicks or fight to keep the cat from swallowing it. Conversely, if the Smurfs had to deal with a full sized harp they'd need the whole village to work together, jumping up and down on the strings. Lots of gags that you'd never get if you just "pulled the cheat."
for those who don't know, THIS is tad stones, renowned animator--most notably for disney where he worked on rescue rangers and (one that helped me in a big way) buzz lightyear of star command. tad created darkwing duck and has written, directed and produced a whole buncha your favorites! he also co-wrote and animated the hellboy animateds.
he is ALSO craig's and my pal, and did a phenomenal job on one of the "extra" stories in the upcoming PERHAPANAUTS #3! wait'll ya see...!
he also provided a variant cover for issue 3 which we will be posting here shortly.
and, yes, tad, your cover also got me thinking about this whole "scale" issue... : )
Both Mike and Craig are giants of art—'nuff said.
Didn't even know about the THING/SHE-HULK book until I bought a Hitch page from it last year. I'm still pretty much in the dark, but am now seeking enlightenment since I've learned of Todd's involvement.
Also didn't know Craig's X-Men FC was out today. Will have to add to my grab list.
One of the nice things about helping out at the 'Haps booth is that you get to met nice folk like Tad.
Holy cow Todd!! Today's post hit me from all directions of great!
Starting it off with calvin & hobbes was great! Then posting some of Mike's stuff, especially the Thing/She-Hulk stuff was just awesome! Man he was really one hell of an artist and I can picture him arguing points, then changing his mind as he got into it. Makes me wish I really got the chance to meet him.
THEN we get a post from Tad 'Darkwing Duck' Stones! Oh my god, I can't believe you guys know him that's just awesome!!
As for Craig, he is one helluva guy as well as one fantastic arteest. It makes me glad to know I can say 'yeah i've met him' and know he's just as great in person.
Todd great story. I love hearing the details about collaborations, especially ones as cordial as you and Mike had and you and Craig have.
I didn't realize you were involved with the Thing/She-Hulk one-shot. How far did that project make it before the plug was pulled?
Tad, I loved Darkwing Duck when I was a kid. Disney had the best afternoon cartoon block.
Todd-
WOW!!!
In other words, "DITTO everything heywood said". LOL
looking forward to seeing Tad's take on the 'haps.
adam, mike, everybody...
back in '99, just as we were putting the finishing touches on sensational spider-man and mike and i were gearing up to take over the incredible hulk, i was asked if i'd be interested in doing a thing/she-hulk one-shot as artist, bryan hitch, had requested me. i said sure and we got going on it. i wrote a plot that was fresh and, i thought, fun, and bryan was turning in some awesome pages! (at a rate of about one a week, but they were awesome...!) suddenly, about halfway through, the editor called to tell me that, due to some prior commitments (?), bryan wasn't going to be able to finish the book. at the time, mike hadn't started on the hulk--we hadn't been given to final go-ahead yet--and i suggested he take over. vastly different styles, i know, but this was s'posed to be a fun book...mike did three pages before, due to marvel's impending bankruptcy, the project, along with about 30 others, was scrapped.
jump ahead to four and a half years later, when editor extraordinaire, tom brevoort, comes across the pages and calls me up to see if i'd wanna finish the job with similar-styled, up-and-comer, ivan reis. i said, of course, but soon realized that a lot of the intended dialogue--and a lot of the fun--would have to go. it's amazing what four and a half years can do, but there had been some fun bits that no longer fit with the current marvel universe and some now cliche pop culture references. and two moments where she-hulk would break the fourth wall, ala the john byrne run(s) on her book. very funny, but i didn't think anyone would get the gag since john's books hadn't been out for nearly ten years by then...
so we did the book. it's out there. there are still a couple of fun/funny moments. ivan did a great job. but it's not what it coulda been...
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